Though mobile phones have been prevalent in the marketplace for some time, they have not been widely used in the industries that must monitor movement of users or employees on a route, a journey or a tour through commander or supervisor defined zones, places or locations. For example, security patrol officers move from checkpoint to checkpoint on a tour defined by a commander. Prison guards move through areas of a prison while making “rounds” defined by a supervisor. Police officers move through areas or “beats” of their city as defined by a commander. Delivery trucks move from store to store making deliveries on a route defined by a supervisor or a manager. A gambler may be able to gamble in a casino but once the gambler moves out of the casino the gambler may no longer place a wager. Military missions move from location to location in the pursuit of accomplishing a mission or a journey defined by a commanding officer. A person can walk through a park or museum and see information about the sites in the park or displays in the museum. Similarly, shoppers move through aisles in a store that can be defined by zones.
With the increase in technological sophistication of wireless devices over time, there has been a rise in the use of these devices. However, while appearing unrelated at first glance, most development in the use of wireless devices is part of the development of wireless device technology. Early efforts were principally focused in marketing products to consumers. Marketers have attempted to find a solution in the prior art to target consumers using wireless devices with limited success.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 7,321,773 to Hines, et al. discloses an area watcher wireless feature with a database of geographic areas triggering the wireless area watcher to display a message upon particular wireless device's entry into or exit from a watched area. A watched area may be defined by a postal code, principality, state or country, or by a particular cell site area. However, the system in Hines relies on the infrastructure of a wireless network service provider to implement the feature and to define the watched areas leading to an expensive system that cannot be customized.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,995,996 to Link, et al. discloses providing target advertisements over a wireless network from local advertisers pre-registered to advertise. Local advertisers register to advertise on wireless devices that are in close proximity to the advertiser. As a consumer enters a cell site that is near the location of the local advertiser, the wireless network delivers a message to the wireless device of the consumer that is specified by the local advertiser. However, the system in Link relies on the location and the range of cellular towers leading to an inaccurate location of the wireless device. Further, such reliance on the range of the cellular towers results in fixed areas within which the consumer must be and cannot be customized to suit the local advertiser.
WIPO Patent Publication No. 2010/078616 to Wood, et al. discloses a mobile device managing arrangement for service and product information by a wireless fidelity network through hand-held devices interacting with a precinct database. In Wood, the precinct database stores vendors, products, services, and information for each precinct. A precinct is a predefined region in which a customer with the mobile device can access information about the vendors, products, services within the precinct. The precinct is equipped with proximity short range wireless equipment, in the form of a pad or a gate. In order to access the information from the precinct database, the customer must place the mobile device within the range of the proximity pad or gate to access the information. However, the system in Wood relies on the wireless fidelity network and a cellular network to locate the mobile device leading to an inaccurate location because the range of the wireless fidelity network and the range of the cellular network cannot conform to the shape of the building in which the customer is desired to be located and cannot be customized. Further, the wireless fidelity network for the determination of the location can be compromised through the use of a wireless fidelity network repeater to extend the reach of the network to unauthorized areas.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,385,516 to Contractor discloses a location confirmation service for wireless devices. A central processor periodically receives position data from a wireless device via GPS or cellular network as a latitude and longitude point. The central processor compares the latitude and longitude point with a known location point to determine if the wireless device is within a predetermined distance from the known location point. However, the service is limited to comparing points and cannot compare a location of a device to a spatial area.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,864,047 to Aninye et al. discloses a monitoring system that tracks a location of a wireless personal tracking device. The system periodically tracks the location of the wireless personal tracking device using a cellular network or a GPS service. The system compares the location to a predetermined inclusion zone or a predetermined exclusion zone. If the wireless personal tracking device is in the predetermined exclusion zone, the system generates a message and sends the message as a notification. However, the zones in Aninye et al are limited to circular zones, each having a fixed radius and cannot be customized in shape or adapted to the conform to the shape of a structure.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,104,672 to Mitchell, Jr. et al. discloses a security system including a set of sensors connected to the security system. The security system receives a location of a mobile security device carried by a user via GPS or cellular network, compares the location of the mobile security device with a known location of an activated sensor and determines whether the activated sensor is within a predetermined distance from the mobile security device. If the sensor is within the predetermined distance from the mobile security device, then the activated sensor is graphically displayed on the mobile security device. The user can then respond to the activated sensor. However, the system in Mitchell, Jr. et al. can only determine whether a sensor is within a given radius from the mobile security device and is unable to create customized geographic zones.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,292,741 to Burman et al. discloses a system for facilitating mobile gaming. The system employs a set of base stations of a cellular network to define a set of geo-fences for a jurisdiction in which gaming is allowed. Each of the set of base stations is customized to allow the base station to send and receive gaming information. Each of the set of base stations has a range that must be wholly within a jurisdiction that allows gaming. Any base station having a range that is not wholly within the jurisdiction that allows gaming cannot send or receive gaming information. A gaming device that is within the range of any of the set of base stations is allowed to place a wager. However, the set of geo-fences cannot precisely define a gaming boundary. Due to the limited range of the set of base stations, the set of geo-fences enable “holes” located in the lawful gaming jurisdiction in which gaming functions on the gaming device that are otherwise lawful are denied.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,616,967 to Amaitis et al. discloses a system and method for convenience gaming. Like Burnam, the system employs a set of customized base stations of a cellular network to define a set of geo-fences for a jurisdiction in which gaming is allowed. The system further employs cell network triangulation using the set of base stations to determine the location of a gaming communication device. However, like Burnam, the system cannot precisely define a gaming boundary leading to denied gaming access on a gaming device that is otherwise lawful.
U.S. Publication No. 2012/0329555 to Jabara et al. discloses a system and method for gaming using wireless communication devices. The system employs a set of Wi-Fi access points distributed on the premises of a gaming facility in which gaming is allowed to define a geo-fence. Each Wi-Fi access point has a generally circular range. The set of Wi-Fi access points verifies the location of a wireless device by proximity to allow gambling on the premises of the gaming facility. However, the system does not allow remote gaming in another lawful area because the wireless communication device must be connected to the set of Wi-Fi access points. Further, the circular range of each of the Wi-Fi access points results in inconsistent coverage of the wireless communication device within the premises leading to inconsistent gaming access.
U.S. Publication No. 2012/0329555 to Froy et al. discloses system for multi-player remote gaming. The system employs a set of gaming machine terminals deployed throughout a casino. Each gaming terminal is connected to a set of mobile gaming devices through a Wi-Fi network throughout the casino. The Wi-Fi network includes a set of transceivers each of which has a proximity range. The proximity ranges defines a geo-fence around the casino. Each mobile gaming device can perform gaming functions, i.e. placing a wager, if the mobile gaming device is within the range of one of the transceivers. However, like Jabara, the system does not allow remote gaming in another lawful area because the mobile gaming device must be connected to the Wi-Fi network of the casino. Further, the circular ranges of the transceivers result in inconsistent gaming access on each of the mobile gaming devices.
European Publication No. 2589232 to Broscoe discloses a system and method for creating and modifying dynamic geo-fences. The system monitors a location of an electronic device using cell network triangulation to create a dynamic geo-fence. The dynamic geo-fence includes a set of fixed geo-fences. Upon first activation of electronic device, a first fixed geo-fence is automatically created having a fixed radius. As the electronic device moves outside of the first fixed geo-fence, the electronic device is temporarily disabled. Permission by a user is required in order to enable the electronic device. Once permission is granted, the electronic device creates a second fixed geo-fence. As the electronic device continues to move, successive fixed geo-fences are created in the same manner to create the dynamic geo-fence. However, the system relies on cell network triangulation to determine the location of the electronic device. Further, the system relies on user permission in a timely manner to create the dynamic geo-fence leading to holes in the geo-fence.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,374,623, to Vellanki discloses methods for controlling mobile computing devices such as laptops, PDAs and cellular telephones, based on their location. Mobile computing devices using such methods include a software-rendered map of defined geographic regions, location handlers for defining behavior of a mobile device in a given geographic region, and a location handling engine for determining when a new geographic zone has been entered and exited, and for executing and terminating location handlers accordingly.
U.S. Publication No. 2012/0276928, to Shutter discloses a method for providing advertisements to mobile devices located in a geographic region. The method obtains current weather condition information and data representing an advertisement and determines a size of an advertisement area for the advertisement based on the current weather information. The size of the advertisement area is decreased during a poor weather condition. The advertisement is provided to the first mobile device if the position of the first mobile device is located in the advertisement area.
U.S. Publication No. 2009/0163216, to Hoang discloses techniques for facilitating a hand-in using proximity-detection and dual-pilot operation. The method includes detecting a presence of a client device in proximity to a network-side device and transmitting a first signal over a first communication channel to the client device. The first signal enables the client device to access information transmitted in a second signal from the network-side device.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,848,765, to Phillips discloses methods and systems relating to location-based services such as social networking, providing demographic information, tracking mobile devices, providing business information, providing an adaptable user interface, remotely effecting a change on a portable electronic device, providing a geofence, outputting location-based information on a mobile device, varying transmissions to and from a mobile device, providing location-based alerts, verifying transactions, and tailoring information to the behavior of a user.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,862,150, to Phillips discloses methods and systems relating to location-based services such as providing a geofencing, outputting location-based information on a mobile device, varying transmissions to and from a mobile device, and providing location-based alerts. More specifically, a method can include receiving a selected location on a mobile device, monitoring a current location of the mobile device, determining when the current location of the mobile device is within the geofence, and initiating an action on the mobile device associated with the geofence and the selected location.
Most of the prior art belongs in a class of “proximity systems,” geo-location tracking systems which do not recruit the device's GPS, or geo-enclosure systems that do not recruit a smart device's ability to report in or out of a geo-enclosure created and evidenced via an online map by the owner or supervisor of such geo-enclosure. While it is-necessary for a security officer to be “in the proximity of” a checkpoint or a vehicle to be near the entrance to a toll zone, it is not sufficient to be able to say they were “there”. It is desirable to definitively say security officer or vehicle was inside specific predefined geographic coordinates (the virtual geographic zone set up by the owner or supervisor of the zone) and was therefore “there”. Further, art that describes geofencing fails to disclose a flow-charted systemic process or method that can accurately and completely describe the processes and methods the prior art purports to claim. In some cases, prior art attempts to claim and preempt an abstract idea without showing process flow or method of achieving the end result. Prior art fails to show a process or relationship between the mobile device user and the owner or supervisor of the zone.
Referring to FIG. 1, a prior art example of a “proximity system” is shown. This example demonstrates the insufficiency of the “proximity system”. The prior art proximity systems have several limitations. Building 150 has perimeter 151. Wi-Fi access point 152 is mounted in building 150 and has range 153. One limitation is that coverage of range 153 is indistinct and varies around perimeter 158. Further, some areas are excluded from coverage of range 153. For example, area 157 and coverage area 159 are not covered by range 153 of Wi-Fi access point 152. Further, undesired reception of the Wi-Fi signal occurs. For example, Wi-Fi repeater 154 broadcasts repeater coverage perimeter 155 by receiving signal 160 from Wi-Fi access point 152 and rebroadcasting it in coverage area 159 with coverage perimeter 155. This is a problem because wireless device 156 is able to access Wi-Fi access point 152 through Wi-Fi repeater 154 with coverage range 159, said coverage range 159 being beyond what is intended. Further, range 153 cannot be precisely determined due to the “fuzziness” of range 153, thereby allowing an unintended user of wireless device 156 to access range 153 of Wi-Fi access point 152 by being in coverage range 159 of Wi-Fi repeater 154.
Likewise, a geo-location tracking system of a device fails to recruit the mobile device's GPS to self-report its location in relation to a virtual geographic geo-enclosure that has been created by the owner of supervisor of that geo-enclosure. Absent such self-reporting, geo-locators would have to passively track the mobile device constantly in order to determine if the device were in or out a geo-enclosure, the coordinates of which, and the shape of which are unknown to the device user. Geo-located tracking would be an imprecise and ineffective way for an owner to create zones within zones, create and service moveable zones and useless at evidencing zone coordinates via an interactive marker on an online map, since the mobile device's GPS is not being recruited by the geo-locator. If the tracked device is beyond the geo-locator's range, it cannot be tracked.
The prior art fails to disclose or suggest a system and method for creating customizable virtual geographic zones to enable zone owners or zone supervisors to create discoverable zones, distribute zone information and accurately interact with users whose mobile devices are self-reporting in or out of the zone. Additionally, geo-fenced areas on publicly available maps are not associated with interactive map markers that contain zone coordinate information, do not alter the public map, and are not interactive with a common mobile device application that can discover publicly accessible zones via a map or by querying the closest zones. Therefore, there is a need in the prior art for a system and method for creating accurate virtual geographic zones that cannot be compromised to allow a supervisor to inexpensively and accurately interact with users by making the zones discoverable on a map and the coordinates interactively available.
The prior art, including proximity systems, geo-locating trackers, and geo-fencing, fail to describe how an owner and supervisor of a geo-enclosure would create a virtual gate into that geo-enclosure for purposes of channeling access and egress through defined areas for purposes of recording entry and exits, such as under the cameras at a toll lane entrance and exit. Likewise, the prior art fails to teach how a zone could be embedded within another zone, thus allowing or denying an activity, such as a handicap parking or premium parking section within a parking lot. Nor are temporal zones described, where, for instance, a toll authority might vary the pricing on a toll lane zone to address peak usage, encourage off-peak usage or eliminate the virtual toll zone completely during emergencies.